Is it a painting or is it sculpture ?

El Anatusi, Taago ,2006

Aluminum Copper Wire

What makes this piece unique to this room? Unlike the other pieces in this room made of wood or pottery this piece is made of man-made materials. This piece was created in 2006 and used to hang in the contemporary art room on the skyway of this building.

·          This piece of art was created by Nigerian based artist El Anatusi  who was born  and studied art  in Ghana. He now however has his studio in Nigeria. Anatusi’s preferred media are Clay and wood. 

·         What is it? The piece is titled “Taago” and is a part of his metal cloth collection.

·         What is it made of? This piece is made up of the wrappers and bottle caps of liquor bottles donated by various liquor companies. The pieces are folded up and placed attached to the copper wire.

·         The wrappers come from liquor that was sent from Europe. Anatusi tries to make his pieces revolve around the history of Africa.  Alcohol is a drink that Europe brought to Africa that links them together.

·         Why do you think El Anasui used the materials he did to make this piece?  El Anatusi said that “When you use material that is expensive like gold it tends to restrict the size of

·         the work and you tend to economize. When you use a cheap medium you are freer to express yourself better. 

·         What do you think the advantage is of using chicken wire? Because this piece metal cloth is made of chicken wire he is able to turn this cloth into sculpture. The piece is always in motion. He is able to bend and twist if he wants. The wire allows the sheet to be shaped and reshaped.

·         When El Anatusi came brought this piece to the High he folded it up and put it in his carry-on luggage.

·         Is it a painting or a sculpture?

·         A number of themes recur in Anatsui's art. One is the destruction and reconstitution of materials as metaphors for life, experience, and changes in Africa under colonialism and since independence. A second theme is associated with textiles and traditional African crafts.